Five ales, including one that goes well with haggis and two aged in whisky barrels, that Robbie Burns might like

Williams Bros. gift pack contains a potent, earthy and slightly smoky ale, Alba, flavoured with Scotch pine, as well as two beers flavoured with gooseberries and elderberries, respectively. The Alba is a great pairing for the earthy flavours of a good haggis.

When Scots and other rebels sit down this weekend to pay tribute to Scottish national poet Robbie Burns, most of them will sip a dram or two of fine single malt in tribute.

There’s nothing wrong with whisky, especially some of the stuff from Burns’ homeland. But it would also be quite fitting to celebrate Burns by drinking some good Scottish beer. Not only do beer-focused evenings tend to last a little longer than those where whisky’s the beverage of choice, there’s plenty of evidence Burns enjoyed a glass of fine ale from time to time. Indeed, it was the subject of one of his final poems.

While there’s nothing from Scotland’s most widely-known craft brewery BrewDog available in Ontario now, there are plenty of selections that would do Burns proud at the LCBO. Here are some of them:

Skullsplitter: From the island of Orkney, which has one of the richest association with Vikings of anywhere in Scotland, comes this rich, strong ale. It’s named for a 10th century Viking Earl of Orkney. We’ll leave the reason for nickname up to your imagination but hey, he was a Viking. At 8.5 per cent alcohol, this is an ale worthy of its name, but the boozy component is well-hidden amidst flavours of dried fruit and caramel. It’s a great match with braised lambshank.

Historic Ales of Scotland: Before brewers discovered the usefulness of hops, they used all sorts of herbs, barks and berries to flavour their wares. For many centuries after hops became popular, most of those old-style ales were all but impossible to find. Fortunately, over the last two decades or so, there’s been a revival of sorts. This giftpack contains four ales from Williams Bros., a Scottish brewery at the forefront of the old-school revival. Their best-known offering is Fraoch, an ale flavoured with heather flowers. In addition to the Fraoch, the gift pack contains a potent, earthy and slightly smoky ale, Alba, flavoured with Scotch pine, as well as two beers flavoured with gooseberries and elderberries, respectively. The Alba is a great pairing for the earthy flavours of a good haggis.

Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12: This strong, dark ale has been aged in barrels which formerly held 12-year-old Highland Park single malt. The whisky shows through, but is just one flavour note among many in this beer, which has notes of coffee, cocoa and dark dried fruit. Good with rack of lamb, venison, or with a spice cake for dessert.

Radical Road Brewing Canny Man: This one is from the Western Highlands of, well, Etobicoke. But it’s worthy of this list. Brewers Simon Da Costa and Jon Hodds have created a fine example of the Scotch ale style. The russet-coloured brew is slightly sweet, with notes of caramel and enough bitterness on the finish to keep the sweetness from becoming cloying. DaCosta and Hodds then let their brew age for 71 days in casks which previously held single malt Scotch. (The barrel distributor wouldn’t tell them which distillery the barrels were from, but DaCosta, who went to brewing school at Scotland’s highly-regarded Herriott Watt university and developed a taste for single malt, suspects it’s something slightly peaty from Speyside). The whisky finishing gave the already-solid brew some further complexity, including a nice whiff of peat smoke.

Innis and Gunn Treacle Porter: If you know them only for their golden-hued, barrel-aged Innis and Gunn Original, you might be surprised by this reddish-brown, more complex brew. It’s got more depth of character than the original; the treacle (aka molasses) used in the brewing makes itself known in the flavour. Slightly sweet, but not enough to go with dessert. But this would be a killer match for a game potpie.

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